A 29-year-old former construction worker from Sapporo pleaded guilty Friday to stabbing to death a female junior college student on a street in Tokyo's Taito Ward in April.
In the first hearing of his trial at the Tokyo District Court, Makoto Yamaguchi, who was unemployed and homeless at the time of the murder, confessed to the charge of killing Mayuko Ogawa, 19, after attempting to molest her.
Appearing before the court in a black rugby shirt, the defendant quietly replied "yes" and looked downcast when the judge asked him if he stabbed the victim.